Flawless?
by SpiderLover
Summary: They've all had enough of doctored photos in Sorcerer Weekly. The Fairy Tail girls decide that enough is enough, and that they'd be taking matters into their own hands. Oneshot.


It was a sunny April in Magnolia, and the girls were spending a well deserved girls-day after discovering that all the boys had either been taking missions to earn some last minute rent money, or dragged along by Gildarts for a 'quick' training session, which left the girls virtually jobless.

The girls, all too eager for some peace, decided to spend the day at Erza's dorm room(s) in Fairy Hills. It was a real achievement- Lucy had somehow managed to get her rent money ahead of time, Levy escaped Jet and Droy, and Juvia decided to not stalk Gray that day for reasons unknown. Now, they were all lounging around the room and idly gossiping.

"Oh look," said Lisanna unenthusiastically. "A new Sorcerer Weekly article about the 'sexy, flawless and powerful' ladies of Fairy Tail."

"Oh I remember that," Kinana mused. "Remember Laki? You, Cana, Levy and I modeled for that a month ago."

Cana snorted. "Photoshoot was a pain in the ass. Those guys wouldn't let me drink between photos."

"Maybe because last time you got drunk and asked every male if they'd want to 'get some'," Charle muttered, only Wendy hearing her.

"Here's another one," Evergreen piped up, "with Erza, Lucy and Juvia. Again, about our 'flawless females'."

Everyone groaned at that.

"Hey, real talk?" Levy said. "I'm kind of tired of all of us being portrayed as 'flawless'."

While Lucy and Wendy cocked their heads in confusion, most of the girls nodded eagerly.

"I know!" Juvia agreed. "Juvia is very tired of being described as perfect!"

"For me, my main problem isn't being described as flawless," Erza said sagely. "I just hate it when the editors edit out my scars from the photos."

Everyone remembered that. A year ago, Erza had been called in with Natsu and Gray to do a photo-shoot concerning a few of the strongest mages of Magnolia, with many photos showcasing their requips. A costume required was midriff baring for the three of them, and while Natsu and Gray had no complications, Erza did. Her stomach and torso had been scarred after many years of intense trailing and battles, while she had extremely defined muscles as well, like Natsu and Gray as well. No one had said anything about the scars during the photographing, but the whole guild was shocked when the issue had come out a week later. There, on the front page was Erza Scarlet, with a perfectly smooth midsection and subtle muscle standing alongside the two men, whose photos had remained unaltered.

Erza in particular had been furious. She had never been insecure about her muscles or scars, seeing them as proof that she was a capable warrior and badges of honor after vicious fights. Furthermore, no one seemed to have a problem with Gray and Natsu's scars- it was only her. Was she not supposed to be muscular and scarred just because she was a girl? This was ridiculous.

"I remember that," Bisca said sourly. Like Erza, she had been upset with the editing.

"I know how you feel," Lucy added. "Something similar happened to me too."

Everyone remembered as well. When being featured in regular articles about the guild, Lucy looked the same in regular life and the photos. The trouble started while she begun to work as an underwear model during the guild's temporary disbandment. Lucy was curvaceous by nature and had a chest and hips of a generous size, which meant that she had some girth in the middle. However, when the photos were released, the editors made her waist smaller and stomach flatter. Lucy wasn't pleased; while it was true that she sometimes wished that her waist were thinner, seeing people actually try to change her body really annoyed her. But in fear of losing her job, she kept quiet about it.

"And I can't believe those idiots tried to give me a bigger chest!" Levy squeaked, referring to the time a photo of team Shadow Gear was put on the front page of Sorcerer Weekly. The result had been horrible, and Master Makorav had actually ordered the magazine to recall their issue. Wendy cringed, only glad that no one had tried to do that on her photos yet.

"Or lighten my skin," spat Cana, who was naturally tan.

"They tried to remove my stretch marks," Mira said. "They've been doing it for years now."

"And ever since I've had Asuka, my body just hasn't been as firm anymore," Bisca mused.

"Remember when we all had acne as teenagers?" Laki asked. "And what the editors tried to do with _that_?"

Except for Lucy, Wendy and Charle, everyone cringed. It had been terrible.

"And the worst part," Evergreen interjected, "is that we have other girls writing to us asking how we have such 'perfect bodies'."

"I know," Erza sighed, agreeing with Evergreen for once. "It's despicable."

"It is," Wendy murmured. "They don't even know that it's mostly editing."

"Everyone has fat, muscle, stretch marks or cellulite," Erza said. "It's a shame to see that so many aren't willing to accept that."

Levy, who had walked out a couple of minutes ago, walked back in with an armful of dusty envelopes.

"What on earth are _they_?" asked Cana, and the petite girl placed the pile on the ground.

"Fan mail," Levy said. "I kept all of ours for safekeeping."

"I what circumstances would you want to use them?" asked Evergreen incredulously. Levy ignored her.

"Should we read them?" asked Lisanna. Immediately, every girl grabbed an envelope and begun to read the letters.

"Some of these aren't too bad," said Juvia. "This one says 'Mirajane, I am in awe of your strength' and goes on about that."

"Speak for yourself," said Lucy in disgust. "The one I'm reading is disgusting. I mean- 'I'd pay you to spend the night at my place in your Stardress Taurus form'? Really? I have better things to do."

The girls cringed at the sleazy letter. Unfortunately, they'd all received letters like those as soon as they hit puberty.

"We'll let Natsu burn that one," said Kinana, taking away the letter, and putting it in the 'kindle pile'.

"Oh look at this one," Mira said. "'How is it possible for you all to have such perfect bodies?' we all do- just not in the way that this person thinks so."

"I feel terrible," said Bisca. "It's like we're teaching my daughter's generation that they have to be this 'pretty' or else they can't be powerful."

"It's not like we're teaching then that," Wendy said dubiously. "Technically it was the editors."

The girls were silent for some time, musing at that thought. It was true that they themselves didn't edit the photos, but they hadn't really made active efforts to call out the editors after the photos came out.

"Well, screw this," announced Cana, bouncing to her feet. "Since when have us girls ever sat back and let this stuff slide?"

"Never," Laki replied, eyes twinkling, standing up as well.

"Hm," Erza mused. "I agree."

"Let's go and teach the Sorcerer Weekly guys a lesson!" Mira squealed, bounding to the door.

Needless to say, their quiet girl time was over. No one was really sure about how they got to this point, but every single girl believed that they had a good cause to fight for, and since they were Fairy Tail wizards, they would fight their hardest.

.

.

The next week, people across Magnolia were surprised to see the newest edition of Sorcerer Weekly featuring every Fairy Tail girl, all looking a bit different from how they'd seen them in the magazines. Erza had muscles and scars, Lucy had a wider waist, Juvia had narrower eyes, Levy had a smaller chest, Mira and Lisanna had stretch marks on their hips, Cana had darker skin, and every girl looked like they had less that supermodel unattainable features. It was refreshing to say the least, and much to the editors of Sorcerer Weekly's surprise, the magazine was more popular that ever, being used as a symbol for body positivity everywhere.

On a completely unrelated note, several photo editors had been put out of business and were now looking out for employment.

"I'm proud of you girls," Master said, looking at the magazine. "You've really shown that world that-" he was interrupted by all the boys running past him with a pile of letters and old magazines.

"Where on Earth are you all going?" Charle asked, swiftly avoiding the stampede.

"Going to have a word with Sorcerer Weekly as well," Freed said sheepishly. "We're all rather tired of being shown with rock-hard six-packs and being pure muscle. I think we're all more than that, you know?" and with that, he ran off.

"Well," Lucy smirked. "I think that Sorcerer Weekly has another think coming for them now!"

.

.

 **How did you like it?**

 **I know that this is an unconventional idea to write about, but I felt that this needed to happen. Body positivity and acceptance are a big deal to me, and I felt that the fanfiction side of media lacks it. And besides, I'm getting a little tired at all the girls being portrayed as perfect with bodies of a goddess. Come on! Which woman doesn't have acne or scars or defined muscle or cellulite or stretch marks? If you don't have any of the above, I'm not saying that you're ugly- I just think that you shouldn't be the norm.**

 **You're all beautiful and perfect just the way you are.**

 **-SpiderLover :D :D :D**

 **-UPDATE-**

 **I just wanted to say that I'm so thankful for all the positive feedback this story has received. Not going to lie, when I published this story, I was scared that it was going to get a lot of hate, since I've never seen a story like this on . I was so overwhelmed when I saw how much you liked it, as this story came straight from the heart, about an issue I feel is relevant right now.**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

 **-SpiderLover :D**


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